"Golden Era" MIK Washburn Strat With Upgrades: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:23 pm
I first started "stalking" this Washburn Strat early last week. I liked the overall look of it immediately upon seeing it. It also had some quality upgrades. At $80 there were times in the past when I would have jumped on it in a heartbeat. However, I've really tried to be more discriminating of late. At this point, owning as many guitars as I do, something has to be what I consider a really good deal for me to take it home. So I walked away.
Fast forward to the end of last week, which was Saturday. I walk into the same pawn shop and the guitar now has a $40 sticker on it, along with the words, "Pickups do not work." I immediately knew that all that meant was that somebody was going to buy it but wanted to test it first, they plugged it in and it made no sound, they passed on the guitar because they can't do repairs themselves, so the employees put it back on the wall at half price. Probably a loose wire, nothing more. So I grab the Washburn for $40.
THE GOOD
It's a 1995, made in Korea, made by Samick Strat copy from the Washburn Shadow Series. The exact model may be WS-4, or something like that. I can't find one exactly like mine, meaning made in Korea and with the bullet truss rod, though I've seen similar ones that were made around 97 in Indonesia. It's not in original condition and I'm thinking somebody was trying to do a SRV tribute thing here on a budget.
Glorious neck profile on this thing with excellent fret work. It's one piece maple with a skunk stripe.
The body has an HSS route. Not sure what wood it is, though it looks like it's three pieces. Not the prettiest wood I've ever seen on a Strat, but certainly not the ugliest either.
The pickups are Fender Tex-Mex and sound wonderful. Never had a set of these before and I'm quite impressed.
The tuners are upgraded with HipShot open gear six in line. These things are quality.
The saddles look like they're some kind of aftermarket jobbers, maybe teflon impregnated string saver type deals.
THE BAD
Those previously mentioned upgraded saddles had the adjustment screws either frozen or stripped. I've dealt with that issue before and know how to address it, but I wanted to play the guitar now. So I pulled the entire bridge out and threw in a loose one I had from a Squier SE.
The non-functioning pickups were the result of a wire being disconnected from the output jack. Ten second fix. There was also no ground wire at all between the volume pot and the trem claw. Fixed that too.
THE UGLY
Like I said previously, I think somebody was going for a SRV thing here. The pickguard was rattle canned black, and not very skillfully either.
What is worse, there had been an interference problem between said pickguard and the bridge, and the amateur "luthier" apparently took some kind of cutting implement . . . maybe a Dremel cut off wheel, maybe a steak knife, who knows what . . . and lopped off a corner of the pickguard, scarring the top of the guitar in the process. Now I don't like to use this phrase too often, as I admit that it is both offensive and sexist . . . but I'd sure like to bitch slap whoever it was that did that.
There's just no excuse for that type of guitar abuse!
All things considered I think I did really good for $40. After almost complete disassembly, cleaning, and a set up it's a very solid guitar. It has killer Strat tone with those Tex-Mex pups, the neck is a dream, and it stays in tune like a champ.
Fast forward to the end of last week, which was Saturday. I walk into the same pawn shop and the guitar now has a $40 sticker on it, along with the words, "Pickups do not work." I immediately knew that all that meant was that somebody was going to buy it but wanted to test it first, they plugged it in and it made no sound, they passed on the guitar because they can't do repairs themselves, so the employees put it back on the wall at half price. Probably a loose wire, nothing more. So I grab the Washburn for $40.
THE GOOD
It's a 1995, made in Korea, made by Samick Strat copy from the Washburn Shadow Series. The exact model may be WS-4, or something like that. I can't find one exactly like mine, meaning made in Korea and with the bullet truss rod, though I've seen similar ones that were made around 97 in Indonesia. It's not in original condition and I'm thinking somebody was trying to do a SRV tribute thing here on a budget.
Glorious neck profile on this thing with excellent fret work. It's one piece maple with a skunk stripe.
The body has an HSS route. Not sure what wood it is, though it looks like it's three pieces. Not the prettiest wood I've ever seen on a Strat, but certainly not the ugliest either.
The pickups are Fender Tex-Mex and sound wonderful. Never had a set of these before and I'm quite impressed.
The tuners are upgraded with HipShot open gear six in line. These things are quality.
The saddles look like they're some kind of aftermarket jobbers, maybe teflon impregnated string saver type deals.
THE BAD
Those previously mentioned upgraded saddles had the adjustment screws either frozen or stripped. I've dealt with that issue before and know how to address it, but I wanted to play the guitar now. So I pulled the entire bridge out and threw in a loose one I had from a Squier SE.
The non-functioning pickups were the result of a wire being disconnected from the output jack. Ten second fix. There was also no ground wire at all between the volume pot and the trem claw. Fixed that too.
THE UGLY
Like I said previously, I think somebody was going for a SRV thing here. The pickguard was rattle canned black, and not very skillfully either.
What is worse, there had been an interference problem between said pickguard and the bridge, and the amateur "luthier" apparently took some kind of cutting implement . . . maybe a Dremel cut off wheel, maybe a steak knife, who knows what . . . and lopped off a corner of the pickguard, scarring the top of the guitar in the process. Now I don't like to use this phrase too often, as I admit that it is both offensive and sexist . . . but I'd sure like to bitch slap whoever it was that did that.
There's just no excuse for that type of guitar abuse!All things considered I think I did really good for $40. After almost complete disassembly, cleaning, and a set up it's a very solid guitar. It has killer Strat tone with those Tex-Mex pups, the neck is a dream, and it stays in tune like a champ.